Rather than shielding Saleh’s family members as had been expected, the legislation protects Saleh and those who worked with him, including in civilian, military and security institutions, during his lengthy presidency. Since protests emerged in Yemen last January, the regime has killed hundreds of demonstrators.

12 thoughts on “No immunity for Yemen dictatorship”

Yemen: Ali Abdullah Saleh is set to leave the country for medical treatment in the US, officials said on Saturday.
Washington’s attempts to orchestrate a peaceful handover have been hampered by the fact that no-one wants to take him into exile – including his former US paymasters.

All staff at Yemen’s recently created national oil company, Petromasila, have been on strike since February 17 over outstanding payments from its former operator, Canadian Nexen, the Yemen Post reports. The Canadian firm left Yemen in December.

The strike brought production to a standstill at Masila oil field—the country’s largest—which produces an estimated 160,000 barrel per day (bpd).

The French Oil Company, Total, with around 70,000 bpd, suspended operation in the Masila oil field site because of the strike.